Farmers support Auckland Plan having Immediate Legal Effect

Farmers have swung in behind
Auckland’s Unitary Plan having immediate legal effect and
Federated Farmers is to tell Parliament’s Local Government
and Environment Committee Select Committee that tonight,
when the Committee meets in Auckland to hear submissions on
the Resource Management Reform Bill.

“Delaying the implementation of Auckland’s
Unitary Plan for as much as three or four years will result
in added costs for Auckland’s rural ratepayers. It will
also hinder the resolution of metropolitan Auckland’s all
too obvious housing issues.

“Federated Farmers generally
supports the Auckland Council’s stance for when the
Unitary Plan should come into effect.

“The land use
rules in the Unitary Plan should have immediate effect on
notification. We do not believe there should be a long delay
before these rules come into effect, as is being proposed by
the Government.

“In the lead up to the release of the
draft Unitary Plan we have found Auckland Council
consultative and collaborative. Agreement has been reached
between rural industries, environmental groups and the
Council on some of the potentially “hot potato” issues
for farmers.

“That is why Federated Farmers Auckland is
confident that the concerns we still have will be addressed
one way or the other before the Plan becomes fully
operative.

“We are using our submission tonight, to
highlight provisions we have concerns about especially those
relating to environmental management. This is much wider
than farming and could trip up Auckland’s wider economic
development.

“It is not well known, but these have
immediate effect on plan notification under both the Bill as
promoted by the Government and under the Council’s
proposal.

“One possible compromise might be for the plan
to have legal effect within a fixed timeframe after it is
notified; say three or perhaps six months. This would give
the Council the opportunity to redress any glaring problems
that might arise by way of a variation.

“But any
compromise should apply to the plan as a whole and not just
to the land use rules”, Wendy Clark
concluded.

Federated Farmers is presenting tonight at
8pm to Parliament’s Local Government and Environment
Committee Select Committee, which is meeting in Paataka Room
One, Novotel Auckland Airport, Ray Emery Drive,
Auckland.

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